1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an instant powder conveyor device of a drinks preparing machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In prior art drinks preparing machines, an instant powder container each is provided wherein instant powder is stocked which is supplied by means of a conveyor device to a brewing or mixing or preparation arrangement. The conveyor device comprises, in particular, a conveyor screw or wire conveyor spindle disposed within a lower area of the instant powder container and suited to exactly dose smaller amounts of instant powder. Since the fluidability of the instant powder in the instant powder container may be impaired, particularly by vapor or air humidity, which leads to a so-called bridge formation of the instant powder so that the instant powder is not easily fluidic any more, the conveying function of the wire conveyor, or of the conveyor screw, may be reduced or interrupted as well. In particular, the wire conveyor spindle, or the conveyor screw, may carve out a tunnel corresponding to its diameter in the powder stock, whereupon no further conveying will be possible. This is particularly true in the case of vapor-generating drinks preparing machines where the vapor may enter through an outflow opening for the instant powder into the instant powder container at one end of the wire conveyor spindle, or conveyor screw. In order not to impair the conveyor action of the wire conveyor spindle, or the conveyor screw, means have already been known to loosen up the instant powder in the instant powder container.
In the food industry, for instance, where fine powder is conveyed, or dosed, from a mostly conical or trapezoidal container by means of a screw conveyor horizontally disposed in the lower area thereof, agitators and/or vibrators or paddles, strikers, air cushions, slip coatings are provided completely above the screw conveyor in order to get the powder to an inflow of the screw conveyor (EP-A 1 916 207). These measures, however, require substantial technical elaboration particularly with a view to the drives of the agitators, vibrators, paddles, strikers, and/or they are not sufficiently effective so that they can hardly be taken into consideration for household preparing devices or semi-professional applications.